Fluoride Free Dentistry Calgary
Today more than ever, evidence of fluoride’s toxicity is entering the public sphere, and its benefits in decreasing tooth decay are being questioned.
Fluoride has been used in dentistry for decades because of its proposed effectiveness in reducing tooth decay. Dental schools teach that fluoride makes the enamel more resistant to the acidic by-products of the bacteria in your mouth. For this reason, fluoride has been placed in our drinking water, put in toothpaste, and used in very high concentrations in dental offices.
However, this “cure” for the common cavity has come under scrutiny. In the July 2000 Journal of the American Dental Association, Dr. Featherstone published his research on the effectiveness of fluoride in preventing tooth decay. Dr. Featherstone took healthy extracted teeth, measured the teeth for fluoride concentration in the enamel, and immersed the teeth in acid. He found that the fluoride incorporated in the tooth during development was insufficient to withstand the cavity causing acid of oral bacteria. The results were the same when he tested teeth containing 10 times the normal amount of fluoride.
More recently, the Center for Disease Control acknowledged in their report of August 17, 2001, “The prevalence of dental caries (cavities) in a population is not inversely related to the concentration of fluoride in the enamel, and higher concentrations of enamel fluoride is not necessarily more efficacious in preventing dental caries.”
Furthermore, fluoride has been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, cardiovascular disease, brittle bones, infertility, dental fluorosis (white spots on the teeth), and neurological impairment. (See The Fluoride Action Network’s scientific database on the health effects of fluoride.)
Fluoride toothpastes sold in the United Stated bear the following poison warning: Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age. If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, seek professional help or contact a poison control center immediately.” In dental offices, fluoride treatments are 1000 times more concentrated than toothpaste. Why would we place this in your mouth or in your child’s mouth?
With the mounting evidence against fluoride, our office does not use fluoride as part of our preventative maintenance. Our philosophy at Health First Dental is that your health comes first. For the same reasons we do not use mercury amalgam fillings, we will not expose our patients to fluoride. We will never put a known poison into your mouth, especially when its benefits are questionable.
